Why it works: Pepper and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Keepinq Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the brine
Cut the beef into pieces as large as desired.
In a pot, combine 1.5 pounds of coarse sea salt and 1 gallon of water.
Add 1 ounce of saltpetre and heat the mixture until boiling.
Skim the brine, then stir in 1 tablespoon of ground pepper.
Pack and cover
Pack the beef into a barrel or cask.
Pour the boiling brine over the beef and cover tightly.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Pepper + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- The main meat, which is preserved and seasoned as it soaks in the brine.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat, helping preserve it.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives it a characteristic pink-red colour during curing.
- Ground pepper
- Adds aroma and a mild spicy flavour to the brine.
The step that matters
Pouring the boiling brine over the beef. The salt and saltpetre must fully dissolve in the hot brine so they distribute evenly. The beef must then stay fully covered by the brine, since any exposed meat can spoil or cure unevenly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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